Are you busy putting your harvests by? Consider preserving some of your Fall forage as vinegar pickles to brighten your Autumn menus and throughout the coming winter.

Recipe and photos by Fernando and Marlene Divina, divinAmerica

All chanterelle types - white, golden, black - find their way into our kitchen. Marlene Divina presents a hummer!

In this moment of health boosting menu making, many folk at this writing may likely choose to ferment mushrooms (and just about everything else!). We, too, do so and encourage all to experience the complex flavor and textural layers with improved health benefits when consuming live cultures in fermented concoctions. Meantime, this vinegar-preserved and spiked alternative hits the spot in short order because a mere hours after preparing them, voilà, one can enjoy the results as we wait for our ferments to mature, sometimes days and weeks later. T

This is a favorite perennial Autumnal experience where we take to our (remaining) forested understory to commune with the elements and harvest our regional treasured seasonal foods. This formula calls for a popular and relatively easy-to-identify wild mushroom - Chanterelles. Substitute varieties like Boletus (porcini), Pleurotus (oyster), Hydnum (hedgehog) or Matsutake (pine) mushrooms from your regional hillsides. Most fleshy wild or nearly all domesticated mushrooms with similar girth, size, and texture work nicely when prepared in this manner.

Mushrooms continue to be a staple of peoples whether indigenous or migrant throughout the mountainous and riverine regions of the Western Hemisphere from Alaska and the Northern Territories to Tierra del Fuego. Pickled wild mushrooms are an old world addition to the preservation and preparation of these delicious native fungi. They are a terrific accompaniment and counterpoint to roasted meats, grilled fish types that are high in Omega-3 fatty acid - think salmon, tuna, mackerel, smelt and their ilk. They complement toasted nutmeats and trending or classic forms of protein analogues.

Regarding the preparation, toasting dry herbs and spices in general revives and activates the respective essential oils. We're in the habit of doing so with most dry herbs and spices. With respect to cooking the mushrooms, we cook them just ever slightly underdone and timing the carry over heat to complete the cooking process. We do, indeed, want to cook them completely. By cooking them until just done improves the texture once cooled and cured. Overcooking the mushrooms can yield an occasional soft textured pickle particularly when using mature or rain-moistened and harvested mushrooms.

Pickled Chanterelle Mushrooms

Makes about 3 pints

1 teaspoon dried whole Mexican oregano (Comca’ac or Seri wild oregano is our choice) or substitute dried whole marjoram

2 Tablespoons Lena Camelina oil from Washington's Palouse or substitute a local oil from your region

½ white onion, about 1 cup (6 ounces) peeled and sliced (or equivalent white part of wild onions or ramps from your region)

1 pound (a generous quart) white chanterelle mushrooms, brushed clean, trimmed and torn from the stem through the cap, if larger than a quarter.

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

4 Serrano chiles (or other regional hot chile), halved lengthwise

1 cup organic raw apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon local raw honey

½ teaspoon local coarse salt or substitute kosher salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

To toast the oregano

Heat a small shallow fry pan over medium heat. Add the oregano and toast, stirring constantly, for about 3-5 minutes or until steam and a lively aroma is emitted to release the volatile oils. Don't over toast. Set aside and proceed with the recipe.

To pickle the mushrooms

Heat a 2 quart sauce pan over medium high heat.

Add the oil and onion. Cook, stirring, and without browning for 2-3 minutes until the onions are translucent and softened.

Add the toasted oregano, mushrooms, thyme and bay leaves. Cover the pan with a lid and cook, stirring regularly for about 10 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to turn color and soften.

Add the garlic and chiles and cook for another 3 minutes.

Add the vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Bring the liquid mixture to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat and transfer the contents to a glass or enamel jar. Cover lightly and leave a couple of open air vents to circulate cool air and place in the refrigerator. Cover the jar tightly when completely cool.

These mushrooms keep well refrigerated, perhaps 30 days and beyond for those that are disciplined or have planned for a quantity sufficient to last through the frosty winter! Let the mushrooms temper to room temperature before serving for optimum flavor and texture.